After the Escape
by Amethyst1
Summary: Ever wonder what happened after Jonas left the Community? Well here's what I think might have happened. I wrorte this while VERY bored! R/R please!!!


The Giver stared down at his hands. Soon the memories would come flooding back into the community and he would be called upon to help the people deal with the painful memories that would come with the good. He heaved a sigh and contemplated his rotten luck. None of the previous Keepers-of-Memories had had this many problems. 

Jonas had been too willful. He probably should have saved the memories of freedom of choice until later in his training. Well it was too late now and he truly believed that Jonas might have had too much independence for this job even before the memories. 

And the other great failure in his career, Rosemary. His poor, sweet Rosemary had been wrong for the job too. Blinded by fatherly love and affection, he had been unable to see that his daughter would be wrong for this job. It had been such a struggle to not tell her that she had been chosen when the selection had been made a week before the Ceremony of Twelve. 

He, unlike other members of the community had been capable of love. And he had loved Rosemary. It was his fondest wish that one day she would have been able to love him back. That's why he had recommended her. The community elders had been unable to see that it was family pride that caused him to think she was best and had appointed her without many questions. 

He hadn't loved his spouse. She had been an Instructor of Eights and had been suitable for him but he had never felt any emotions towards her. She was now living in the House of the Old where he should be too, by all rights. He was old enough to have been placed there eight years ago but he was stuck until he had found a replacement or until the community members learned to deal with the memories that Jonas would leave them.

The memories. He sighed. The memory of colors was coming back. It was a good thing that that memory had been returned first instead of "war" or "hunger." Something simple that would please them deep down inside instead of tormenting them. Pretty soon the Elders would be coming to request his help. It would be hard but he had to tell them that this time they would have to learn to cope with the memories. He wouldn't live long enough to train a replacement Receiver. He was an utter failure at his job. Not one but two Receivers had run away. Jonas had had good intentions though. He could cope unlike Rosemary.

The child, Gabe. He could have been another Receiver. Jonas was able to give him memories when he was unable to transfer them to anyone else. But he had been scheduled to be executed. They were going to kill a year old child. And for what reason? Because he was "imperfect." He had been small and fussed at night as any normal child should. But that made him unsuitable for life in the community. So Jonas had risked his life and abandoned all he knew to save a child's life. He was really an honorable boy. Not boy, man the Giver corrected himself. Jonas was young but more of a man than most of the male population of the community.

The sudden rush of memories came at the same instant as the frantic knocks on the door. He staggered briefly as the memories came in a torrent. The hunger and violence tortured his mind and judging by the cries at the door, they were doing worse to the Elders. A sob caught in his throat as he realized what the suddenness of the memory onslaught meant. Jonas had died. Otherwise the memories would have come at a slow, manageable pace. So he hadn't made it. The sorrow was overwhelming. He clung to the small hope that Gabe had survived and Jonas had not died in vain.

Rising he went and opened the door. Putting on a brave face he stepped out to face the Elders and explain the situation. It had been a long, trying road and the worst was yet to come. But he would survive. He had to.

Epilogue- Two years later the community had adjusted to memories and enjoyed small things like color and sunshine. They were still mostly protected from horrors such as war and managed to live, by our standards, a peaceful and idyllic life. 

It took a year of searching but the Giver finally found the truth about Jonas. He had died in the snowbank along with Gabe and had been buried in a churchyard by the kindly pastor. The Giver had visited their graves noce, about three months after he discovered the truth about their escape. A group of teens had found them in the snowdrift and apparently for awhile they were a source of great gossip and speculation for the sleepy little town. It was a shame that they had died within two miles of their goal. But they had gone on to a better place where fear didn't exist. Jonas deserved that.

With all his work done the Giver sat in his little room. The community would survive anything that would come. And if not there were people who could help. The girl, Fiona, for example. She had been so distraught to hear of what had happened to Jonas. She was a strong one though. People would survive. So with nothing holding him back the Giver lay back and peacefully drifted off to meet Jonas in death.


End file.
